At the range, one load of Alliant (Hercules) 2400 gave me a very sticky lever, another of IMR4227 pierced a primer, and still another of Hodgdon Lil' Gun gave a chronograph reading of an astounding 3,026 fps, a blown primer, a rush of gas over my trigger finger, a blown breech plug and a rifle out of commission.

So what happened? I knew I had a tight bore and allowed for that. My chamber dimensions were not wildly different than Kilbourn's original. As usual, Phil Sharpe had the answer, but it was buried away in a mountain of words.

In the .22 Hornet section of the book's supplement (but not in the main section) was a blunt warning from both Hercules powder and Winchester ammunition, warning that changes to the Hornet case had made old reloading data downright dangerous.

The warning from Winchester, for instance, described complaints of pierced primers and expanded pockets and said its testing of loads recommended by Sharpe in earlier editions had delivered pressures as high as 61,900 psi, where the recommended level for the Hornet was 40,000 psi.

The reason? The Hornet cases had been strengthened. "These contain extra metal," Sharpe wrote. "Since the outside of the case must be held to dimensions to fit chambers, the additional metal must be on the inside, thus reducing case capacity. To cram the old charge into a smaller case naturally will increase pressures. Don't do it!" Thanks, Phil.

And, in the same section, a warning from Remington that its new 91⁄2 primer was hotter than those made before the war, and those using it should cut their powder charges back "a couple of grains."

Tight bores. Varying chamber dimensions. Less case capacity. Hotter primers. Any one of these can boost pressures to unholy levels with even modest loads. To give Sharpe his due, the warnings were all there, hidden away. It would have been nice if he had at least flagged them in the main section on reloading the Hornet.

When my K-Hornet Martini comes home from the gunsmith, it is back to the drawing board.